“TINY Times,” a young adult urban film directed by popular Chinese young adult writer, Guo Jingming, is expected to hit cinemas June 27.

    The film, adapted from Guo’s popular novel “Tiny Times,” is about four young female university graduates’ stories and problems concerning society, careers, friendships and love.

    The leading actresses and actors include Yang Mi, Guo Caijie, Xie Yilin, Guo Yilin and Kai Ko. The producer is Angie Chai, a well-known producer for young adult films and dramas from Taiwan.

    It’s the first time for Guo to be a screenwriter and director for a movie based on his own book.

    “I was very nervous. Many people have very high hopes for the film and this is my first film. On one side, I am very much looking forward to introducing it to audiences, but on the other side, I feel a lot of pressure. I hope people will like it,” Guo said on a recent talk show.

    Many people doubted Guo’s ability as a director, but Yang backs him up.

    “In the beginning, I also had a little doubt. Because we had two very professional executive directors, I thought Guo might just put his name on the director list and do nothing. However, he did everything himself during the whole shoot. Sometimes people would give him advice, but he would stick to his own thoughts,” Yang said.

    Guo said he felt calm when facing the doubts.

    “As the original writer of ‘Tiny Times,’ I really wanted to protect my own work, so when they asked whether I wanted to be the director, I said ‘yes’ immediately. I thought why not give it a try? I might fail, but I’d rather ruin it myself than let it be ruined by someone else,” he said.

    Guo said he especially enjoyed working with Yang and Guo Caijie.

    “I like every one of (the cast members), but Yang really gave me a lot of surprises in this movie,” he said.

    Guo, a Sichuan Province native born in 1983, is one of the most successful writers born in the 1980s and is one of the richest writers in China. He is also president and general manager of Shanghai World Cultural Development Co.

    His works are mainly for young students. “Tiny Times” was his fifth book and has sold more than 3.5 million copies.

    Guo got his fame after winning first prize in the National New Concept Writing Contest for two years in a row, in 2001 and 2002, and becoming one of the most popular young writers among young readers in China.

    Many people like to compare him with Han Han, another leading young writer who also got famous from the contest. For more than 10 years, their relationship has always been a hot issue among netizens and young readers. Some even make jokes and comics about the two on microblogs.

    “I do not pay special attention to Han because I only care about those who I know privately. For me, it would be very weird to care about a stranger that much,” Guo said. “People have been comparing us for 10 years. I don’t care that much, and I try to stay away from it.” (Wang Yuanyuan, Lai Junyu)